PATRIARCHAL SEE 13 November 2019 (ORCNS) - HIRH Don Rutherford, Florentine Archfather, issued the following Patriarchal encyclical in response to recent issues of pagan idols at the Vatican.
RVTHERFORDVS I ANG.ITAL. P.I.
Praelatus Ecclesiae Debent Contra Idola Esse Patriarchal Encyclical on Pachamama in the Vatican and General Idolatry in the Holy Church
On the Feast of Saint Didacus, Confessor
13 November A.D. 2019
The prelates of the Church must be against idols. That indeed should not have to be said now or ever. Yet, the recent apparent veneration of the pagan idol of Pachamana and use of such pagan idols in the Vatican, including by the Pope, necessitates that we fulfill Our sacred duty to protect, safeguard, and perpetuate the Holy Gospels and the Faith of Jesus Christ. We in Our office, as ecclesiastical successor to the temporal patrimony of Pope Leo X, with Our Roman titular seat in the Stanze di Raffaello in the Holy See and Our titular Roman Catholic church of Santa Maria Antiqua, would fail in Our most sacred duty and obligation, even in the Eternal City to which Our patrimony is so deeply rooted and perpetually connected, if We did not speak clearly and plainly, both to those directly entrusted to Our spiritual oversight and to others of the Christian faithful.
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| Saint Didacus |
At the recent Amazonian Synod, statues of Pachamama, a pagan idol of the indigenous peoples of the Andes, were introduced in the Vatican and used in inappropriate ways in a Christian Church. That included but was not limited to a blessing by the Holy Father himself of at least one such idol. Although pagan imagery may legitimately be kept or displayed in museum settings as examples of art, ancient culture, etc., it may in no way and at no time be kept or displayed by the Christian faithful in any way that might indicate approbation of them, official or otherwise, or that would constitute veneration or could be inferred to constitute veneration. This is even more applicable to the worldwide hierarchy of the Church, for it is to us to whom the faithful look for guidance. If the shepherd does not teach his flock the difference between safe pasture and a perilous cliff, then it can hardly be a surprise when the flock falls off that cliff. Such is the grave responsibility of the shepherd.
We, therefore, call upon the faithful in all communities to join together in acts of spiritual reparation for this atrocity committed in the Vatican and to pray for the conversion of all who participated in such events. We look particularly to Saint Didacus of Alcalá, whose feast we celebrate today, for guidance and intervention. Born in Seville, he was a Franciscan whose ministry involved helping to bring the indigenous people of the Canary Islands to the saving light and love of Our Lord. We further call upon the faithful in all communities to pray for the Holy Father, all prelates of the Holy Church, and all clergy around the world.
